Operational Experience of Microgrid in

the BC Hydro System -

A Case Study
Presented to
Western Protective Relay Conference October 2020
Spokane, Washington, USA
Authored by
Mukesh Nagpal, Amit Bimbhra, Kenan Hadzimahovic, Lawrence Ryan,
Nimesh Shah, Barry Krahn, Dan Carey
BC Hydro
John Wheeler, New Energy Design Limited

Abstract: With reduced cost of renewable technologies, increased customer demand for reliable and secure
power, and societal climate change concerns, new green energy resources are gaining more popularity.
These resources are typically small in size and distributed throughout the network. Rising penetration of
new green resources is shifting the architecture of modern power grid where centralized and remotely
located large generation facilities are being replaced with multiple small distributed resources that are
located closer to customers. The distributed generation improves service reliability for customers when
there is a planned outage or permanent fault in the electric supply chain from the integrated utility system.
The customer along with local distributed generator can form a sustainable island which can operate as a
Microgrid until the connection to the integrated system is restored. This concept is similar to earlier power
plants that supplied power to customers in its neighborhood only.

This paper presents an example of a remote BC Hydro distribution substation which was originally built as
traditional distribution substation and designed for unidirectional power flow from system to the station. In
time, several run-of-the-river generating stations were connected to the distribution feeders at this station.
Except during some winter months when rivers are frozen, total local generation often exceeds the station
load and contributes to bi-directional power flows. The substation is connected to the integrated system
from a single long radial transmission path. Recently, planned maintenance work on the terminal
equipment of the radial supply line at this substation was required. Since the local generation was able to
meet station demand, protection and control modifications were made to allow the station to operate as a
standalone island or Microgrid to avoid the customer outages. Microgrid powered by run-of-the-river
generation now limits usage of the backup diesel and helps to reduce costs as well as carbon footprint.

The paper discusses carefully planned switching sequences required to migrate from integrated to
Microgrid operation and challenges of resynchronizing back to the system. The paper also discusses how
the load and distributed generation balancing was achieved during a recent Microgrid operation. Operation
in islanded mode will be described along with voltage and frequency regulating devices that are needed to
adjust voltage and frequency limits with multiple generator units operating. Power Quality protection
settings for each generating plant will be discussed. Protection challenges faced with reduced fault levels
and provision of alternate settings group is listed and its remote control provided to Control Centers.

Key Words: Microgrid, Distribution Generator Connection, Distributed Energy Resources (DER),
Distributed Generator (DG), Islanded-Operation

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 Operational Experience of Microgrid in the BC Hydro System:
A Case Study

1. Introduction

This paper presents an example of a Microgrid which evolved from a traditional BC Hydro distribution
substation. It is a remote station and connected to the integrated system from a single long radial
transmission path with history of outages. Over the years, third-party owned small generators were
connected at the distribution substation. Initially, the generators were designed to operate in parallel with
the BC Hydro system. Their operation with the loads and station disconnected from the integrated was not
allowed. Recently there was planned maintenance, involving work on the terminal equipment of the radial
supply line. To avoid the customer outages, protection and control system changes were made. These
changes now permit station to operate as Microgrid with local generation and loads during its planned
disconnection from the integrated system. Previously, BC Hydro relied upon local diesel generation to
supply some customers during transmission outages. The Microgrid operation, which is powered by run-
of-the-river generation, now helps to reducing carbon foot print by curtailing diesel generation usage.

The paper provides switching methodology used for planned transition of station from grid-connected to
standalone sustainable island and finally reconnection. The lessons learned will be discussed because first
the attempts on transition and resynchronizing did not go as planned and led to customer interruptions.
How the load and distributed generation balancing was achieved prior to and during the islanded
operation. Operation in islanded mode is described along with voltage and frequency regulations,
regulating devices that are needed to adjust voltage and frequency limits with multiple generator units
operating. Power Quality protection settings for each generating plant will discussed. Protection
challenges faced with reduced fault levels and provision to use SCADA enabled alternate settings group.

2. Standard Definitions

EPS: An Electric Power System (EPS) is a network of electrical components built for transmitting
electrical energy from generating sources to end consumers.

DER: A Distributed Energy Resource (DER) is any resource on the distribution system that produces
electricity and is not otherwise included in the formal NERC definition of the Bulk Electric System (BES)
[1]. Therefore, DERs can be defined as small scale units of local generation connected to the grid at
distribution level that can be utilized to meet power and reliability requirements of customers.

DG: Distributed Generation (DG) refer to small sources of electric power generation (typically ranging
from less than a kW to tens of MW) outside of the Utility grid which are located close to the load.

Microgrid: A Microgrid is an area of the power system that has a large concentration of DG among
various loads. What makes this system unique is that it can operate either in parallel with the Utility grid
or in an autonomous way, disconnected from the Utility grid. This type of grid paradigm is particularly
interesting in terms of the technical, reliability and economic implications. In many ways, a Microgrid is
just a small-scale version of the traditional power grid. IEEE Std. 1547.4-2011 [2] defines DER island
systems or Microgrids as electric power systems that:
• have DER and load,
• have the ability to disconnect from and parallel with the area EPS,
• include the local EPS and may include portions of the area EPS, and
• are intentionally planned.

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In this paper DER, DG and local generation are used interchangeably. Likewise, Microgrid and Islanded
operation are used interchangeably.

3. Benefits of Microgrid

With technological advancements, it is becoming more viable to have DERs closer to customers. These
resources could be either wind farms or biogas plant or photovoltaic technology or traditional hydro
machines. This section briefly outlines a few of the benefits of DER and allowing their operation in
islanded mode with local loads or as a Microgrid.

Economic Benefits: With local generation available, upgrades to the integrated system, for example,
transmission lines can be deferred. It reduces power loss. It can provide better voltage control and reduces
on-line tap changing operations which helps reducing maintenance work on the utility assets. Local
generation can provide jobs in the vicinity.

Voltage Quality Improvement: Local generation resources can be utilized to improve the local voltage
profile. As in the example presented all local generators can operated in voltage regulating mode, so the
plants provide and absorb reactive power as required to maintain setpoint voltage.

Alleviate Over Loading: During peak load hours, with proper utilization of DG, local area over loading
can be avoided.

Environmental Concerns: By not having to construct new transmission lines or build new substations in
the Integrated system, natural habitat will not be disturbed.

Reliability: Microgrids are a viable option for areas where there is an unreliability of power supply. A
Microgrid can improve reliability for system outages and customers can have secure power supply.

4. Microgrid Protection Issues

Whether or not Microgrid operation is viable is challenging to evaluate and depends on many factors
which include:
• Isolation and separation points in the system
• Mix between load and generation in the isolated system
• Microgrid generator protection system
• Microgrid generator control system: excitation and governor characteristics
• Visibility of DG units to a controlling entity (e.g. BC Hydro) over SCADA

Referring to Figure 1, a DG is connected to a typical utility distribution substation. DG and utility can
separate at different points depending upon which breaker opens. Depending upon the ability of DG to
support the load and form a sustainable island after separation, a feeder, bus, station and transmission
level Microgrid can be formed. Protection challenges are different at each level.

Feeder Level Microgrid:

This configuration allows for supplying loads on the feeder when the planned outage is carried out with
feeder circuit breaker open. Assuming that the feeder generation and loads can form a sustainable island,
the following protection upgrades are required to the traditional distribution feeder protection originally
designed for unidirectional power flow:

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 o Synchronizing with voltage supervision for auto reclose and remote circuit breaker close with
feeder side voltage transformers or dead bus close
o Mitigation of feeder ground relay desensitization with DG generator operating in parallel
with utility system (discussed in detail later in this section)
o Coordination for adjacent feeder faults
o Large variation in fault levels: from increased fault level when DG operating in parallel with
the utility to drastic reduction when DG is operating in Microgrid mode
o Out of step protection

Station Bus Level Microgrid:

This configuration allows for supplying station loads when planned outage is carried out with the station
bus breaker open. Assuming that the station generation and loads can form a sustainable island, the
following protection upgrades are required in addition to all those discussed for the feeder level:
o Extend bus protection tripping to all feeders with DG to remove fault current infeed from
local generation
o Directionalize bus protection

Transmission Level Microgrid:

This configuration allows for supplying transmission and station loads when the planned outage to be
carried out at the remote station with line source breakers open. Assuming that the station generation and
station plus line loads can form a sustainable island, the following protection upgrades are required in
addition to all those discussed for the station bus and feeder levels:
o Add line protection to trip the local generator feeder circuit breaker
▪ Phase faults – distance, overcurrent and timed overvoltage
▪ Ground faults – zero sequence overvoltage
o Reclose supervision at line end substations
o Add zero sequence overvoltage due to ungrounded system operation

LOAD

TRANSMISSION LINE
Integrated
LOAD
System

LOAD LOAD

Transmission Substation Bus

Level Island Level Island
Feeder Level IPP
Island

Figure 1: Different Types of Islands

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Technical Challenges
a) Protection Challenges: When operating as a Microgrid, the local generation may not be able to
produce enough short circuit fault current. Short circuit and protection coordination studies should be
performed to assess and assure proper operation of protective devices. Alternative protection settings,
which are significantly more sensitive than the traditional protection setting used in the integrated
mode, are often required during Microgrid operation.
b) Loss of Utility Ground fault Sensitivity for Ground Faults: The substation protection covers for phase
and ground faults up to first protective device on the feeder. High side wye and low side delta are
preferred choices for DG entrance transformer [7]. With the high side grounded, the DG transformer
is a source of ground fault current and de-sensitization of the utility ground relay can occur.

BC Hydro distribution feeders are four-wire, three-phase with multi-grounded common neutral
conductor [4]. Figure 2 shows a simplified one-line diagram of a distribution station, which is
connected to transmission system via 130/25 kV delta-grounded wye substation transformer.

138kV
Transmission Line Integrated
System

Distribution
Transformer

25kV Bus

Distribution Feeders
Phase to
Neutral Loads

IPP
Pole Mounted 1-Phase
Transformer
Phase

Interconnecting
Transformer
Point of
Neutral Interconenction

A Typical Distribution System –

With IPP (DG) on a Feeder

Figure 2: Typical Distribution Substation connected to Transmission System

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The 25 kV or wye-side is solidly grounded at the substation. The fourth or neutral wire of each feeder has
multiple-grounds, allowing single-phase loads to be connected between phase and neutral via pole and
pad-mounted transformers that are rated for line-to-neutral voltage. Also shown in the figure is a DG
connected to a feeder via an interconnecting transformer having traditional generator-unit transformer
configuration; the low-voltage (or DG) side is delta and the 25 kV or distribution feeder side is connected
grounded-wye. A solidly grounded DG interconnecting transformer can reduce the sensitivity of the
feeder ground protection to an unacceptable level. Interconnecting with a delta configuration on the 25 kV
side avoids ground protection desensitization completely but leads to an ungrounded system during
Microgrid operation. So as a compromise, reactance grounding can be used on the feeder side.

c) Risk of Utility and distributed generation out-of-synchronism close

Refer to Figure 2, closing of any substation or transmission breaker while DG is still connected poses risk
of an out-of-synchronism close

d) Risk of temporary or sustained overvoltage

Refer to Figure 2, where a DG connected to the utility system via an ungrounded interconnecting
transformer (transformer with delta winding on the 25 kV side instead of wye-ground as shown) can
expose the utility and its customers to unacceptable high voltages during ground faults. During ground
faults, an ungrounded DG in a Microgrid subjects pole mounted signal-phase transformers to line voltage
and severely saturates them or can damage them.

e) Coordination for adjacent feeder faults

The feeder protection on the DG feeder may mis-coordinate for a fault on an adjacent feeder, as illustrated
in Figure 3. One solution for this is to directionalize the Utility feeder protection.

Utility
Contribution LOAD

TRANSMISSION LINE
LOAD

Integrated
System
IPP Infeed
IPP

PROTECTION MIS-COORDINATION DUE TO BI-DIRECTIONAL

SHORT-CURCUIT CURRENT

Figure 3: Coordination Issue due to DG Infeed

f) Bi-directional power flow through feeder voltage regulators and transformers leads to incorrect
operation of on-line tap-changers, which in turn affects voltage regulation

g) Power Quality: Microgrids with inadequate short circuit strength, low-inertia generators and without
high-speed governors can have challenges maintaining voltage and frequency within Power Quality
standards.

h) Stability: Low rotational inertia within a Microgrid can introduce operating challenges.

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i) Black Start Capability: Special black start procedures are required to avoid risk of safety or
equipment damage

j) Compliance with Standards: IEEE 1547: Microgrid design may require compliance to local or IEEE-
1547, Interconnecting Distribution Resources with Electric Power System.

5. Description of Distribution System

The distribution substation, DXX, is a town in Central British Columbia located close to the Alberta
border. Unlike much of the rest of the BC Hydro system, this area relies on a single 138 kV radial
transmission line that crosses several hundred kilometers of forest and mountainous terrain where repairs
can be difficult, and the risk of outages is relatively high. Figure 4 shows the 138 kV transmission system
that serves DXX substation.

2 x IPPs

LOAD T3
5 x IPPs
Diesel 25D3 1D3
Station
LOAD

LOAD
Integrated
System
1CB1
1L1YY 1L2YY 1L3YY 1L4YY

66 km
195 km 60 km 28 km

1L5YY

STATION-A STATION-B STATION-C STATION-D STATION-E

(AXX) (BXX) (CXX) (DXX) (EXX)
IPPs

Figure 4: Area One Line Diagram

Refer to Figure 5 for a more detailed DXX substation configuration which consists of a 138/25 kV step
down substation supplying three radial feeders. DXX has one step down transformer (T3) with a fully
forced rating of 18.8 MVA. The transformer has a high side circuit switcher (1D3) and low side
disconnect switch (25D3) for isolation. DXX 25 kV is a self-contained GIS module that has two incoming
25 kV bus breakers (25CB1 & 25CB2), one main bus (25B1), one transfer bus (25B2) and four outgoing
breakers (25CB51-54). DXX substation is also equipped with two 25 kV distribution capacitor banks, 2.4
MVAR each.

The substation was originally designed as a traditional distribution substation, for unidirectional power
flow only. Over the years, two of the three feeders received several run-of-the-river distributed generators
as follows:

Feeder-51: The feeder has:

• Two run-of-the river hydro-electric distributed generators: IPP6 and IPP7
• Two field controlled reclosers equipped remote SCADA controllability from control room

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 1CB1
1L3YY 1L4YY
(CXX) (EXX)

1D3

138/25 kV
10/13.3/16.6//18.8 MVA
T3

25PT3
25D3

25CB1 25CB2
GIS
D3 (NO) D3 (NO)
25RX1 25RX2
25B2

25VS1 VS VS 25VS2 25B1

D3 (NO)

D3 (NO)

D3 (NO)

D3 (NO)
25CB51

25CB52

25CB53

25CB54
25CX1 25CX2

Feeder-52
VR1 VR: SCADA
Voltage Regulators
LOAD
Feeder-51 LOAD Feeder-53
IPP2
RC1 RC: SCADA
Reclosers
9km

78km

LOAD
VR2
IPP6
LOAD
RC2 LOAD

VR3
22km
IPP7 LOAD

LOAD

RC3 Diesel
Station
LOAD IPP3 LOAD
IPP1
LOAD
IPP4

LOAD
IPP5

Figure 5: DXX Substation and Distribution Area One Line Diagram

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Feeder-52: The feeder has:
• Five run-of-the river hydro-electric distributed generators: IPP1 to IPP5.
• Two distribution SCADA controlled voltage regulators
• Five distribution SCADA controlled switch and reclosers
• Diesel generators located in a community approximately 85 km along the feeder. The feeder has
long overhead line with most customers connected at the end of line. Until recently BC
Hydro owned diesel generators located near the customers were used as sole backup supply
system

Feeder-53:
• Feeder-53 has load only and no generation.

Table-1 lists all distributed generators (IPP1 to IPP7) along with their ratings, physical locations on the
distribution feeders and grounding on the feeder (25 kV) side.

Transformer
Feeder Number MVA grounding on Distance from DXX
Designation Name of Units Rating the feeder Substation, km
FEEDER-51 IPP6 1 0.003 Ungrounded 7.5
IPP7 2 2.85 Reactance 9
IPP2 1 3.75 Reactance 29
IPP1 (MASTER Tap 78 km from DXX &
FEEDER-52 HYDRO PLANT) 2 5.00 Solid generation 22 km from tap
IPP3 2 1.200 Ungrounded 104
IPP4 3 1.600 Ungrounded 112
IPP5 3 4.000 Ungrounded
Diesel Station 3 0.60 Ungrounded

Table-1: DXX Distribution IPP Description – (IPP6 is a single-phase micro-hydro)

6. DXX Substation Limitation

DXX substation is radially fed from the integrated system via a single path comprising of three 138 kV
transmission lines in series: 1L1YY, 1L2YY and 1L3YY. The transmission path has a history of forced
and planned outages. BC Hydro does not use overhead shield wires and the lines are subjected to
lightning faults during the short lightning season. Beside lightning, forced outages are caused by pole
fires, broken wishbone, damaged cross arm, transmission structure failure etc. Planned outages can be due
to maintenance work, like work on substation transformer, transformer load tap changer (LTC), station
disconnect/isolation switches (1D3 and 25D3), transmission poles etc. During these incidents, the DXX
customers are without power. Appendix I gives a summary of forced and planned outages for the area
transmission lines 1L1YY, 1L2YY, 1L3YY and DXX T3. To minimize customer outages, it was decided
to make of use distributed generation at DXX to maintain customer supply during transmission path
outages. However, the following substation issues were identified while studying islanded operation with
local generation:

• Distribution 25 kV station capacitor banks are used for the VAR control but the Operator has no
visibility or ability to control the capacitor bank circuit breakers

9
• Long transmission lines and long distribution feeders result in voltage degradation on the
transmission level as well as along the distribution feeders. Under normal system operation, DXX is
normally operated at higher voltage on the transmission level
• A synchroscope is not installed at DXX substation 25 kV bus for reconnecting island substation back
to the integrated system
• There is no remote control or visibility of some local generation. In the absence of indication for the
supporting generating plants, the Operator has to rely upon phone conversations with individual plant
operators
• There is no remote metering and logging of local generation. In the absence of metering data for all
the generating plants, Operations Planning relies on some estimation, historical data, phone
conversations with individual plant operators to estimate and calculate actual substation load and
actual generation from all of the plants. In absence of remote metering, revenue metering and PQ
meters on most of the plants are used as data sources

7. Microgrid Solution

To reduce customer outages and the carbon footprint, BC Hydro explored use of renewable (run-of-the-
river) generation as much as possible to service the station loads for planned transmission outages and in
response to sustained forced outages of the transmission supply. Based on Engineering selected criteria,
i.e. generation capability, automated modern governor control system, available inertia capacity, location
of the generating plant and power quality (PQ) performance of the distribution circuits during islanded
operation, three run-of-the-river plants were selected: IPP1, IPP2 and IPP7. IPP1 was selected as the
master plant to run in an isochronous mode i.e. zero droop - voltage and frequency control to follow load
during islanded operation. The other two generating plants (IPP2 and IPP7) support the master plant from
a PQ and reliability performance perspective while in Microgrid mode. They run under fixed kW output.
BC Hydro and the generators owners worked together to identify and implement the plant control
modifications allowing for the islanded operation.

IPP1:
The plant has two identical generators with total plant capacity 10 MVA. The plant design was modified
for islanding service. The original design had flywheels to provide inertia for islanding, but when
commissioning for integrated mode (grid-connected) operation, it was noticed that long distribution lines
caused phase shifts leading to loss of synchronization of the IPP1 generators as the high inertia turbines
could not swing quickly enough but they also did not have enough stored energy to prevent the phase
shifts. The original flywheels were sized to maximize the capacity of the generators to pick up load for
islanding, but since the original design, a high-speed governor was implemented that can operate fast
enough that inertial support is not required.

IPP1 has two double jet Pelton turbines direct connected to 600 rpm generators. The water injector jets
are fitted with deflecting blades that can divert a portion of the water flow away from the turbine runner,
thereby modulating the power output of the turbine. The jet controls must be operated relatively slowly to
avoid pressure spikes in the penstock, and to prevent excessively rapid changes in the stream depths. The
deflectors can be operated very quickly, with full 0-100% operation in either direction possible in 0.1
seconds. Actual movement during load acceptance or rejection require only a portion of the deflector’s
movement, so the response can be very fast. The plant owners designed a control system which is capable
of taking advantage of the very high speed deflector control element while avoiding instability due to high
governor gains. During the extreme changes in load, the control will reach full stroke, which does lead to
some overshoot in control; however, it decays rapidly to reach nominal frequency. During smaller load
changes, the control remains in its effective range, and there is generally no overshoot.

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Prior to use in islanding mode within the Microgrid, IPP1 was tested extensively with a 4.6 MW load
bank. The two turbines were synchronized together, and then the circuit breaker at the Point of
Interconnection (POI) is closed to accept the load. The load bank was situated at the POI to the BC Hydro
system. High-speed governor and exciter responses were tested to sudden load changes in the islanded
operation. To simulate the full load pick up and rejection, the water jets of the turbines were adjusted to
produce maximum plant output, with the deflectors maintaining speed-no-load for 60 Hz. The IPP1 POI
circuit breaker was closed onto the load bank with it set to its maximum load of 4.6 MW. After voltage
and frequency were observed to be stable, the circuit breaker was opened, causing full load rejection
operation of the governor. Figure 6 and 7 show the plant frequency and voltage responses to step load
changes, respectively. On load application, the plant frequency dropped down to 57 Hz, returned to 60 Hz
in about 6 second and then overshot to 61.4 Hz. It finally stabilized completely within 12 seconds. The
voltage dropped to 97% of nominal on the initial load acceptance. Load rejection resulted in the
frequency reaching 62.7 Hz momentarily. Although this frequency exceeds the BC Hydro PQ settings, it
only occurs after total loss of the customer load, so has no risk to the customers. Voltage spike was less
than 2%. The plant operated as expected. Frequency and voltage excursions were within acceptable range
for the islanded operation, and actually were within normal BC Hydro parallel operations PQ limits.

Figure 6: IPP1 plant frequency response on sudden load pick-up and rejection

IPP2:
This plant is assigned to provide kW and voltage support during islanding events. When participating in
islanded operation, the kW output is set manually as required to manage the load so that IPP1 has
adequate governing range. IPP2 has strong voltage control that provides support to maintain voltage at the
DXX end of the distribution feeder, Feeder-51.

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Figure 7: IPP1 plant voltage response on sudden load pick-up and rejection

IPP7:
This plant is assigned to provide kW and voltage support during islanding events. IPP7 provides adequate
voltage support to maintain voltage at the DXX end of the distribution feeder, Feeder-52.

Microgrid Grounding:
The unit transformer on IPP1 is delta-wye with solid grounding on the feeder (25 kV) side. The solid
grounding of IPP1 provides effective grounding in Microgrid operation. However, the ground protection
at IPP1 is set very sensitively which removes the generators quickly after ground faults, which in turn
eliminates the ground protection desensitization of station feeder protection during the grid-connect
operation.

The unit transformers on IPP2 and IPP7 are also delta-wye but are reactance grounded. Because IPP2 and
IIP7 can’t independently supply loads, they pose no risk of overvoltage in Microgrid and do not de-
sensitize the station feeder ground protection during their grid-connected operation.

Microgrid Control:
The operator of IPP1 has access and permission from the owners of the IPP2 and IPP7 involved in the
island to operate their plants as needed to support the island. The operator has SCADA access to all the
plants, so is in a good position to monitor available water, load, and voltage parameters and adjust each
plant as needed. Although this works in the BC Hydro example case, it is unlikely that most similar
networks would have this capability. In the general case, the utility load desk should have full SCADA
visibility of the participating IPP’s key operating data, including water availability. In the absence of
SCADA signals for these parameters, the load desk would have to direct each IPP via telephone for
setting the correct power output to ensure the primary plant maintains a good range of governing capacity.

12
All the IPPs designated for islanding service have black-start capability, but only IPP1 is required to
actually black-start. The other IPPs do not need to start prior to their feeder being energized by the island.

BC Hydro installed distribution automation devices (reclosers, switches, voltage regulators) with full
SCADA control at strategic locations for sectionalizing to meet load pick up and reliability performance
during Microgrid operation. These automation devices are configured for bidirectional power flow.

The diesel generating plant was assigned as backup source when DG is not available in winter season due
to reduction in river water flows.

7.1. DG Availability

• During spring, summer and fall months, typically all the generators have enough water availability
with full generation capabilities. Total distributed generation exceeds DXX load for 8 months of the
year.
• From system power flow perspective, DG generation back feeds into the transmission system.
• Based on load and DG resource balancing, during 8 months of the year, typically station load on
average is about 4 MW and generation from the chosen generators (IPP1, 2 and 7) is about 10 MW.
• As an added benefit of Microgrid, BC Hydro is minimizing the use of diesel generation and deferring
the capital investment in the area.

7.2. Voltage and Frequency Deviations Allowed

While operating as a substation island, i.e. supplying the distribution circuits and DXX substation bus up
to station transformer disconnect switch 25D3, BC Hydro ensures that the Microgrid is still maintaining
CSA power quality requirements and following BC Hydro Power Quality Guide [5].

7.3. Remote Metering, Indication and Control

This section lists the information that is available to BC Hydro Control Centers.

• DXX Substation SCADA Control and Indication:

o The 25 kV bus circuit breakers (boundary between integrated system and Microgrid): 25CB1
& 25CB2
o The four distribution feeder circuit breakers: 25CB51, 25CB52, 25CB53 & 25CB54
o Load tap changer for station power transformer T3 (138/25 kV) (Auto/Manual as well as tap
position control)
o Power transformer isolating disconnect switches (1D3 and 25D3)
o Normal and Alternative Feeder Protection Selector
o DXX feeder PN alternate settings

• DXX Substation Remote Metering Quantities:

o Station and individual feeder – Amps, Voltage, MW and MVAR
o Station transformer metering
o Station 25 kV bus voltage

• DXX Distribution Circuit SCADA Control Devices:

o Seven distribution SCADA controlled switches and reclosers on two distribution circuits,
Feeder-51 and Feeder-52

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 o Two distribution SCADA controlled voltage regulators on distribution circuit Feeder-52,
which has master generating plant IPP1 (under Islanded configuration)

• DXX Distribution Circuit Remote Metering:

o Distribution automation devices – Amps, Voltage, MW and MVAR

• BC Hydro Diesel Generating Plant (Full plant control)

o Black start capability, generating mode, individual generator start/ stop, raise/ lower MW and
MVAR
o Point of delivery distribution SCADA recloser
o Generation and point of delivery devices – Amps, Voltage, MW and MVAR, frequency

• Master generating plant, IPP1, indication only (no control):

o Generating Plant mode,
o MW, MVAR, Voltage, Frequency
o Point of delivery circuit breaker status
o Governor control mode (droop/isochronous modes)
o Unit excitation setpoint

• Other supporting generating plants have no indication

8. Microgrid Operating Plan

This section describes planning steps: (a) how a sustainable island is formed on planned separation of
DXX from the integrated system and (b) how the island is reconnected without loss of supply to
customers after the planed outage work is over.

The Master Generating Plant (IPP1) has the capacity to pick up the entire DXX substation load from early
May to late September. After determining DXX substation load, it is determined if other available area
generation are required or not to support island.

Transition to Microgrid
The transition from grid-connected to islanded or Microgrid mode is designed only for the planned
transmission outage i.e. in anticipation of maintenance work, storms, wildfires etc. Below is the procedure
that is followed for the transition from Grid connected mode to Island Mode:

1. The Master Generating Plant (IPP1) is set in Co-gen (droop) mode. In this mode, BC Hydro controls
Voltage and Frequency.
2. The MW and MVAR flow through substation transformer T3 are brought to ZERO by following the
following steps:
a) Step 1: By adjusting IPP1 MW output (Fixed MW Mode), ZERO MW flow across substation
transformer T3 is achieved. When ZERO MW flows through T3, it implies that IPP1 and DXX
load (MW) are balanced.
b) Step 2: Put substation transformer T3 LTC in manual control mode. By adjusting substation
transformer T3 LTC controller as well as support from distribution voltage regulators on feeders,
ZERO MVAR flow across substation transformer T3 is made. The substation bus voltage is
maintained above 23.5 kV.
3. Once the MW and MVAR flow through the substation transformer T3 are ZERO, the distribution
substation DXX is Islanded by opening the main bus breakers 25CB1 and 25CB2.

14
4. After the Island is formed, the IPP1 mode is changed from Co-Gen (droop) to the island mode
(isochronous mode – zero droop with voltage and frequency to follow load). At this stage, the IPP1 is
carrying the entire DXX substation load
5. The distribution circuit breakers and recloser protection settings are changed to alternative settings –
these are sensitive protection settings required in the Microgrid operation (discussed in Protection
Section)
6. The IPP1 protection settings are changed to the island mode – these settings are set for wider
frequency and voltage ranges required in the Microgrid operation (discussed in Protection Section)
7. In the Microgrid mode, the IPP1 controls voltage and frequency of the island.
8. If more generation is required to support, IPP2 and IPP7 can also be put in-service. These generating
plants will operate in droop mode (constant generation – fixed kW output mode).
9. If the frequency is high and there is a need to reduce generation, the supporting IPP Generating Plants
should be turned off or reduce generation.
10. Substation transformer T3 can be isolated by opening 1D3 and 25D3.

Re-connection to Grid:
After planned outage work is completed, the transition from Microgrid to integrated operation is
performed as follows:

1. At DXX substation, transformer T3 is energized by closing 1D3 and 25D3. This energizes T3 low
voltage side potential transformer 25VT3 (the breakers 25CB1 and 25CB2 open).
2. The voltage and frequency are noted on either side of the main substation bus.
3. To make voltage difference as close as possible to ZERO, transformer T3 taps are adjusted.
4. When BC Hydro is ready to restore service from the 138 kV transmission system, the frequency
settings of the IPP1 Plant is increased slightly to 60.05 Hz to allow the system phase rotation to roll
into synch with the BC Hydro Grid. This ensures that the frequency on either side of the main
substation bus is almost identical and avoid tripping of distributed generators.
5. When the voltage difference and frequency slip across the bus breaker are within acceptable limits,
bus breakers are closed.
6. Change IPP1 from Island mode to Co-gen (droop) mode for parallel operation.
7. Substation is now connected back to the integrated system.
8. When the BC Hydro transmission connection is made, the frequency returns to 60 Hz and the IPP1
gradually increases output to normal levels.

8.1. Operational Experience During Islanded Mode

1. Any outage on the distribution system, will trip off the master generation
2. Field operations will work to troubleshoot and isolate the fault
3. The load sectionalisation devices will be operated (OPEN) to make system ready
4. With master generation black start capability generation will start with partial load pick up
5. By operating sectionalisation devices master generation will pick up all the loads, if required
supporting generator units will come on line in droop mode first

9. Protection Scheme: Existing and Modifications

The station and plant generator protections must be able to operate reliably in the grid-connected as well
as in Microgrid operations. When operating in the Microgrid mode, the distributed generators may not
provide enough fault current for the protection devices to detect and operate reliably. A detailed short
circuit study was performed with DG operated in the grid-connected and in an islanded mode. Since

15
Microgrid is a relatively weak system, any disturbance due to faults on the distribution feeders generally
trips the plant generators on Power Quality before overcurrent elements can operate.

Station Protection:
The existing distribution feeder protection is a multifunction overcurrent relay. The existing relay uses the
following elements to provide feeder protection: phase inverse time and definite time overcurrent
elements, negative sequence overcurrent elements, residual inverse time overcurrent elements, dead bus
or synchronization check for circuit breaker closing, trip fail logic for breaker failure and auto-reclosing
elements. Since the distribution substation (DXX) configuration changes significantly during the islanded
operation, new protection settings had to be implemented to provide reliable fault coverage during
islanded operation. This was very challenging due to protection coordination requirements with
distribution level protection devices and low available fault levels during the islanded operation. Sample
configuration which needs to be covered by the devices in the substation is shown in Figure 8. During this
configuration, we would expect that Feeder-51 protection has a chance to operate first followed by
Feeder-52 protection to ensure that only the faulted section of the system is isolated.

Upon restudy of the area, we settled on having two separate setting groups: standard setting for the grid-
connected and alternative setting for Microgrid operations as shown in Table 2 and 3, respectively. The
setting groups can be toggled between the two groups locally via pushbutton control or remotely via the
control center. Protection sensitivity had to be increased significantly to accommodate for low short
circuit current in Microgrid mode but it posed risk of mis-operation on cold-load pickups. To avoid cold
load pick up trips, Feeder 51 and 52 breakers are opened from control room before restarting Microgrid
after a station outage. Feeder 52 is also sectionalized by opening SCADA controlled field reclosers. After
black starting IPP1, loads on Feeder 52 are restored in steps by closing of feeder reclosers followed by
closing of feeder breakers. Depending on load vs generation other IPPs are resynchronized with IPP1.

Phase Settings Phase Pickup Curve Time dial

Feeder-511 408A U3 3.50
Feeder-521 408A U3 3.50
Feeder-53 408A U3 3.50
Ground Settings Ground Pickup Curve Time dial
Feeder-51 240A U4 6.50
Feeder-52 180A U4 9.50
Feeder-53 240A U4 6.50

Table-2: Standard Feeder Protection Setting in the grid-connected mode

Phase Settings Phase Pickup Curve Time dial
1
Feeder-51 74A U4 0.70
Feeder-521 84A U3 1.8
Feeder-53 60A U3 1
Ground Settings Ground Pickup Curve Time dial
Feeder-51 38A U4 3.5
Feeder-52 48A U3 4
Feeder-53 24A U4 3.5
1
The elements are torque controlled by undervoltage phase-to-phase elements
Table-3: Sensitive Feeder Protection Setting for Islanded or Microgrid Operation

16
Furthermore, we added new coordinated frequency protection which will trip Feeder-53 first, then
Feeder-51 and finally Feeder-52. It is because Feeder-53 carries the smallest load and Feeder-51 carries
the most load. The settings for the frequency protection are shown in the Table 4 below.

Frequency Elements Frequency element Frequency element

pickup delay
Feeder-51 58.5 Hz 1200 cycles
Feeder-52 Not used
Feeder-53 58.8 Hz 600 cycles

Table-4: Coordinated Frequency Protection Settings

1CB1
1L3YY 1L4YY
(CXX) (EXX)

1D3

138/25 kV
10/13.3/16.6//18.8 MVA T3

25D3

25CB1 25CB2
GIS
D3 (NO) D3 (NO)
25RX1 25RX2
25B2

25VS1 VS VS 25VS2 25B1

D3 (NO)

D3 (NO)

D3 (NO)

D3 (NO)
25CB51

25CB52

25CB53

25CB54

25CX1 25CX2

Feeder-52
Feeder-51 Feeder-53

IPP6
IPP2

IPP7 Diesel
Station

IPP1

IPP4

IPP5

Figure 8: DXX Substation Protection Challenges

17
Finally, we also added dead line and synch check feeder breaker closing supervision on breakers 25CB51
and 25CB52. These elements were added to facilitate restoration of the system without causing
unnecessary customer outages.

Phase Maximum Maximum High voltage Low voltage Breaker close

Settings angle slip threshold for threshold for healthy time for angle
(degrees) frequency healthy voltage voltage window compensate
(Hz) window (V sec) (cycles)
(V sec)
Feeder-51 20 0.25 78.56 65.50 3.66
(110% Vnom) (90% Vnom)

Feeder-52 20 0.25 78.56 65.50 3.66

Feeder-53 No synch check

Table-5: Dead Line and Synch Check Function Settings

Plant PQ Protection:
BC Hydro uses tight PQ trip settings on distribution generators [4,5] to avoid unplanned sustainable
islanding of generators with loads. A Microgrid is a weak electrical system and standard PQ settings can
cause tripping of the plant generators for disturbances due to faults on the distribution feeders. Thus, the
master IPP1 is switched to alternate wider PQ settings in the islanded mode. No alternate settings are used
for the two plants IPP2 and IPP7 because IPP1 can support the entire substation load.

IPP1 Power Quality Settings:

The plant PQ settings are tabulated below.
UNDERFREQUENCY SETTING (HZ)
GRID-CONNECTED ISLAND MODE
SETTING (HZ) MINIMUM TIME (SEC) SETTING (HZ)) MINIMUM TIME (SEC)
59.40 180 59.40 600
58.40 30 58.40 60
57.80 7.50
57.40 0.71 57.40 10
56.80 0.08
56.40 INSTANTANEOUS
53.00 53.00 INSTANTANEOUS
OVERFREQUENCY SETTING (HZ)
GRID-CONNECTED ISLAND MODE
SETTING (HZ) MINIMUM TIME (SEC) SETTING (HZ) MINIMUM TIME (SEC)
60.60 180 60.60 600
61.60 30 61.60 60
61.70 INSTANTANEOUS
62.60 10
67.00 INSTANTANEOUS

Table-6: IPP1 Under and Over Frequency Trip Settings in Grid-Connected and Islanded modes

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 UNDERVOLTAGE SETTING (VOL)
GRID-CONNECTED ISLAND MODE
UNDERVOLTAGE LIMIT MINIMUM TIME (SEC) MINIMUM TIME (SEC)
V < 50% 0.12 0.12
V < 85% 4.75
V < 90% 1.96 59.75
90%< V < 106% CONTINUOUS CONTINUOUS
OVERVOLTAGE SETTING (VOL)
GRID-CONNECTED ISLAND MODE
OVERVOLTAGE LIMIT MINIMUM TIME (SEC) MINIMUM TIME (SEC)
90%< V < 106% CONTINUOUS CONTINUOUS
V > 106% 0.96 59.75
V > 110% 4.75
V > 120% 1.96 0.12
* Voltage operation between 90% and 106% of Nominal voltage is considered normal and trip should not occur

Table-7: IPP1 Under and Over Voltage Trip Settings in Grid-Connected and Islanded modes

IPP2 Power Quality Settings:

The plant PQ settings are tabulated below.
VOLTAGE SETTINGS (VOL)
MINIMUM TIME (SEC)
V < 50% 0.160
V < 90% 2.00
90%< V < 106% CONTINUOUS
V > 106% 120
V > 110%
V > 120% 0.160

FREQUENCY SETTINGS (HZ)

MINIMUM TIME (SEC)
F < 56.4 INSTANTANEOUS
F < 56.8 0.120
F < 57.3 0.750
F < 57.8 7.50
F < 58.4 30
F < 59.4 < 60.4 NORMAL
F > 60.6 180
F > 61.6 30
F > 61.7 INSTANTANEOUS
Table-8: IPP2 Power Quality Settings
IPP7 Power Quality Settings:
The plant PQ settings are tabulated below.
VOLTAGE SETTINGS (VOL)
MINIMUM TIME (SEC)
V < 50% 0.100
V < 90% 1.90
90%< V < 106% CONTINUOUS

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 V > 106% 120
V > 110% 1.0
V > 120% 0.10
FREQUENCY SETTINGS (HZ)
MINIMUM TIME (SEC)
F < 56.4 INSTANTANEOUS
F < 56.8 0.040
F < 57.4 0.670
F < 57.8 7.50
F < 58.4 30
F < 59.4 < 60.4 NORMAL
F > 60.6 180
F > 61.6 30
F > 61.7 INSTANTANEOUS
Table-9: IPP7 Power Quality Settings

10. Lessons Learned

Despite elaborate and careful planning, sometimes things don’t go as planned. This section will list two
events where load was tripped.
Event-1: Partial Load Trip after Formation of Island
To work on substation transformer T3, it was required to isolate this transformer. For this, DXX
substation bus breakers (25CB1 and 25CB2) were opened and the load was supplied by local generation.
BC Hydro Control Center needed to isolate substation transformer T3 by opening 1D3 and 25D3. It is to
be noted that BC Hydro Control Centers have no visibility or control for the two 25 kV Distribution
Capacitor banks. Before isolating T3, Control Center Load Desk Operator verified verbally with the Field
Electrician to confirm status of capacitor bank circuit breakers and was informed that both the capacitor
banks are out-of-service, when in fact they were energized. Refer to Figure 9, which shows that the
capacitor banks were drawing approximately 126A at 25 kV.

Figure 9: DXX Distribution Capacitor Bank Current 126A

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This load was not seen in the bus telemetry used to verify the 0 MW/0 MVAR precondition for islanding.
In this instance, the Control Center Operator used 25D3 to isolate T3. This disconnect was not rated for
capacitor bank de-energization and flashed over. This appeared as a Phase B-C fault to transformer
differential protection, refer to Figure 10. The transformer differential protection scheme is designed to
trip for any fault current contribution from either high or low voltage side, and, tripped the IPP feeder
circuit breakers (Feeder-51 and Feeder-52). Fortunately, when the substation bus breakers were tripped,
not all the load was lost. The load connected to Feeder-52 that was supplied by IPP1 was able to stay
connected, while the load connected to Feeder-51 was dropped. To pick up the load again, IPP1 was set to
ensure it had adequate governing range and then the BC Hydro Control Center closed the substation
breaker 25CB52 to back energize substation 25 kV bus and after that other substation feeders were picked
one by one.

Figure 10: DXX Transformer T3 Differential Protection Trip

Event-2: Undesirable IPP1 Trip When Operating In an Islanded Mode

During an unusually long islanding event, one of IPP1’s generators tripped due to a mis-programmed
alarm. The second unit was unable to carry the load alone, and the IPP1 POI circuit breaker opened on
under-frequency. In order to restore service to the customers as quickly as possible, a step by step
approach of energizing a portion of the system with another IPP in it, and then bringing that IPP online to
supply kilowatts so that the next area can be brought online. With IPPs 2 and 7 at speed-no-load (SNL),
IPP1 was started and successfully energized all of Feeder-52 load. IPP2 is within this area, so it was
brought up to its fully available capacity. This provided the single generator at IPP1 with enough range to
accept several MW of further load. BC Hydro Load desk Operators switched field reclosers on Feeder-51
to bring on sections with the shortest path to IPP7. Once the IPP7 generator was energized, it was brought
up to sufficient capacity to provide IPP1 with governing margin to pick up the rest of the loads, including
Feeder-53.

21
Once the cause of the outage on the IPP1 generator was determined and corrected, the second unit was
brought online to provide additional reserve, although it was not needed for the rest of the islanding
operation.

This technique of bringing loads and generation online in stepwise fashion is applicable to any system
that has sufficient distributed generation available to carry the load in its area, while using a single
generator to control the system balancing. The distributed generators also provide multiple points of
voltage support so that areas do not suffer from unusually high or low voltages throughout the system.
This is especially important in such a long system, as it is normally configured to pass load in the
opposite direction. It may not have capacity to boost voltage at the end typically controlled by the
substation grid source, so the generators in that area can regulate the voltage when the substation cannot.

Figure-11 shows IPP1 the entrance protection relay tripping the POI Circuit Breaker after the frequency
dropped to 52.9 Hz. The duration of the overall event was less than 500 ms.

Figure 11: IPP1 Trip on Loss of one unit

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11. Summary

1. Local generation and Microgrid deferred capital investment required for the capacity and reliability
improvement of DXX. BC Hydro can maintain or improve customer satisfaction for the area.

2. Typically, on average three events (two planned events and one forced event) during the year.

3. Water resources availability for the local generation in the area during November to March due to
freezing temperatures and cold winter months. During summer months April to August, all the local
generating plants in the area have much more water resources; as a result the excess power is sent to
grid.

4. BC Hydro diesel generating plant (November to February) generation is available whenever the local
generation isn’t sufficient to supply customers. In conjunction with all the available local generation
the customers get supplied during outage conditions.

5. To make and execute the islanding plan, there is a fair bit of work involved from BC Hydro
Scheduling Group, planning and control room. Once the Microgrid island is established, BC Hydro
has full visibility of the master hydro run of river IPP1 (March to October) and full visibility and
control for the diesel generating plant (November to February)

6. With the support of existing SCADA devices, BC Hydro is in a position to establish the Microgrid
island remotely. For IPP1 generating plant (March to October) BC Hydro coordinates with the local
generation to establish the Microgrid island remotely. Once the Microgrid island is established, BC
Hydro has full visibility of IPP1 (March to October) and full visibility and control for diesel
generating plant (November to February)

12. Conclusion

A traditional distribution station designed for unidirectional power flow can evolve into a bi-directional
power flow substation. The transition can occur over a time as more and more distributed generation is
added locally at the substation. Feeder, station and line protection upgrades are required to accommodate
as the local generation increases. Different feeder protection and generator PQ protection settings groups
are required to achieve reliable protection performance for allowing generation to operate in grid-
connected and islanded modes. Highly sensitive feeder protection feeder settings in Microgrid operation
are necessary for dependable operation and highly sensitive PQ settings in grid-connected operation are
required to prevent unplanned formation of sustainable island. Sensitive feeder protection settings in
Microgrid mode require cold load pick up management after Microgrid outages.

Unlike university or a research Microgrid, the paper shared challenges and experience with a utility
distribution substation that can operate as a Microgrid and contributes to customer reliability while
reducing the carbon footprint.

13. References

1. NERC- Distributed Energy Resources, Connection Modelling and Reliability Considerations,

February 2017
2. IEEE Standards Coordination Committee 21, “1547.4.2011 IEEE Guide for Design, Operation, and
Integration of Distributed Resource Island Systems with Electric Power Systems,” 2011.
3. Distribution Power Generator Islanding Guidelines, BC Hydro June 2006

23
4. BC Hydro Interconnection Requirements for Power Generators, June 2004.
5. BC Hydro Power Quality Guide, June 2005.
6. NERC Reliability Standard PRC-024-1, Generator Frequency and Voltage Relay Settings.
7. IEEE Standards Coordination Committee 21, “1547.2.2008 IEEE Application Guide for IEEE
Standard for Interconnecting DR with EPS,” 2008.

24
Appendix I: Forced and Planned Outage by year – From 2000 till 2020

2000 to 2005 2006 to 2010 2011 to 2015 2016 to 2020 Grand Total
Forced Outages
1L1YY
Sum of Event duration in Min 39074 774 1267 68 41183
Count of outage 19 9 11 14 53
1L2YY
Sum of Event duration in Min 31940 3331 1314 433 37018
Count of outage 19 21 19 18 77
1L3YY
Sum of Event duration in Min 2011 534 2545
Count of outage 21 23 44
DXX T3
Sum of Event duration in Min 193 14 7897 8104
Count of outage 2 1 2 5
Sum of forced outage in Min 71207 4105 4606 8932 88850
Number of Forced outages 40 30 52 57 179
Planned Outages
1L1YY
Sum of Event duration in Min 14027 277 651 12847 27802
Count of outage 2 2 3 6 13
1L2YY
Sum of Event duration in Min 11 9107 581 787 10486
Count of outage 1 5 2 4 12
1L3YY
Sum of Event duration in Min 3977 2136 6113
Count of outage 2 5 7
DXX T3
Sum of Event duration in Min 114 464 30543 1717 32838
Count of outage 1 3 4 4 12
Sum of Planned Outage duration in Min 14152 9848 35752 17487 77239
Number of forced outages 4 10 11 19 44
Total outage duration in Min 85359 13953 40358 26419 166089
Total Number of outages 44 40 63 76 223